Violent Offences (Waverley)

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what reported offences involving violence there were in Waverley in the past three years; and how many of those involved (a) village shops and (b) post offices. [150309]

Mr. Charles Clarke:
Totals of violent crimes in Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership areas were not collected centrally prior to September 1999, and are not collected by location of offence. The table gives the number of violent offences recorded in Waverley in the year to September 2000 in the three categories of violent crime. There are no previous comparable year data held

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centrally. This information, with that on all other Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships, was published in table 5 of the Home Office Statistical Bulletin 1/01, "Recorded Crime England and Wales October 1999 to September 2000", which is available in the Library.

Waverley crime and disorder reduction partnership

Notifiable offences recorded by the police

Number

October 1999 to September 2000

Violence against the person

665

Sexual offences

65

Robbery

23

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Metropolitan Police

Mr. Dismore:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department since the introduction of the new allowances for housing for police officers in London, (a) how many officers joined the Metropolitan police from other police forces and (b) how many left the Metropolitan police to join other police forces; and if he will make a statement. [148650]

Mr. Charles Clarke:
No new allowances for housing have been introduced for police officers in London. The London Allowance paid to those police officers recruited into the Metropolitan police since 1 September 1994 who are not in receipt of housing allowance was increased with effect from I July 2000.

I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that between 1 July 2000 and 31 January 2001, 68 police officers joined the Metropolitan police from other forces and 245 left the Metropolitan police for other forces.

Departmental Policies (Tooting)

Mr. Cox:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Tooting parliamentary constituency the effect of his Department's policies and actions since 1 May 1997. [149862]

Mr. Charles Clarke:
The Home Office is working to build a safe, just and tolerant society in which the rights and responsibilities of individuals, families and communities are properly balanced, and the protection and security of the public are maintained. Detailed information on the impact of Home Office policies across the full range of responsibilities is set out in Home Office Annual Reports. A copy of the most recent report, Home Office Annual Report 1999-2000, is available in the Library.

The impact of Home Office policies and actions is not normally examined by constituency and the statistics which the Department collects, such as recorded crime, cannot be matched in the way requested although following are examples relating to the Tooting constituency or the immediate locality:

Crime Reduction Programme (CRP):

Targeted Policing Initiative:

Round 2: Understanding and Responding to Hate Crime--A Metropolitan Police Project seeking to tackle domestic violence and racially motivated crime in all London boroughs within their policing area. Scheme seeks to develop a data system that will inform the investigation of hate crime; create a system for training and support for those dealing with 'hate crime' and improve the understanding of different forms of hate crime and how to respond to it. Also aims to find more effective ways of identifying both new and repeat victims. Allocated funding of £287,000 for a 22 month project.
Closed Circuit Television (CCTV):

Three schemes approved under the CCTV initiative 1999--total £327,500

Lennox Estate--15 CCTV cameras and related equipment which will provide coverage around the Lennox Housing Estate with the aim of targeting criminal damage, vandalism, anti-social behaviour and attempted burglaries.

which has experienced relatively high levels of vehicle crime. The scheme will also target burglary, bicycle theft and anti-social behaviour.

Battersea Park Extension--four CCTV cameras and associated equipment have been funded to provide further coverage of the Battersea Park area and the vicinity of Prince of Wales Drive. This will enable the Metropolitan police and the Wandsworth Parks Constabulary to respond to incidents quickly and control public events more effectively. The scheme also seeks to reduce motor vehicle crime, which has been a problem affecting off-street parking around Prince of Wales Drive.

Wandsworth has recently submitted six bids under round two of the CCTV Initiative. The funding requested from the CRP is £530,299. These bids have been submitted to the Home Office Crime Reduction Programme Unit (CRPU) and a decision is awaited.

Reducing Burglary Initiative:

There are three initiatives at present within the borough:

Round 2: Over 60's--The Metropolitan police in partnership with Wandsworth Borough Council have been allocated funding for a project covering the over 60's. The main interventions proposed are target hardening for repeat victims, particularly among elderly households. Allocated Crime Reduction Programme funding of £7,100.

Round 2: Balham Ward--The project encompasses the Balham area. Main interventions proposed are raising awareness, roadshow and watch link, target hardening and a property accreditation scheme for an area with large numbers of flats and houses in multiple occupation. Allocated Crime Reduction Programme funding of £19,400.

Wandsworth has submitted a bid under round 3 of the Reducing Burglary Initiative. The bid covers a significant proportion of the borough and asks for funding of £526,100. The bid has been submitted to the Home Office Crime Reduction Programme Unit (CRPU) and a decision is awaited.

Drug Arrest Referral Initiative:

A drug arrest referral scheme has been established in Wandsworth. The scheme aims to reduce drugs misuse and drug related crime by providing treatment options for problem drug users, who are arrested. A specialist drugs worker is employed to identify, assess and refer people to treatment who have been arrested and want help in relation to problem drug use. The cost of employing Arrest Referral Workers is being matched jointly by the Metropolitan Police until April 2002. Under the Crime Reduction Programme, the Joint Finance Initiative additionally provides a contribution towards local treatment of problem drug-users. The CRP allocation of funding for arrest referral is £25,974 and for treatment is £21,468.

More generally, all of the policies of the Home Office will impact on the residents of Tooting to a greater or lesser extent. For example:

376 Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships have been established;

Racial harassment and racially motivated crimes have been made criminal offences by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998;

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The asylum backlog has been cut from 103,495 at the end of January 2000 to 66,195 by the end of December 2000; and

Good progress is being made in reducing the incidence of fire deaths in England and Wales. They have dropped from 605 in 1997 to 534 in 1999.

Asylum Seekers

Ms Oona King:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum claims have been refused because the applicants did not submit their SEF within the two-week deadline. [150098]

Mrs. Roche:
Information relating to asylum applicants who did not submit their Statement of Evidence Form (SEF) within the 10 working day deadline is not currently routinely collected so could only be obtained through examination of individual case records and is therefore available only at disproportionate cost.

The available information relates to total refusals of asylum on non-compliance grounds; comprising failure to provide further evidence as required and failure to respond to invitations for interview to establish identity as well as failure to complete a SEF correctly and within the time allowed.

The information that is available is given in the table.

Refusals of asylum on non-compliance grounds in the United Kingdom, excluding dependants, April--December 2000(19),(20)

(22) Cases considered under normal procedures may include some cases decided under the backlog criteria

(23) Nil

Note:

Includes some cases where the application has been refused on substantive grounds

Information on the number of refusals, and the number of refusals on non-compliance grounds is published regularly on the Department's website at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/index.htm.

Miss Widdecombe:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum cases have been dispersed under the terms of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999; how many of these were (a) single adults and (b) couples without children; and if he will make a statement. [150039]

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Mrs. Roche [holding answer 12 February 2001]: As at the end of December 2000, 16,590 1 bedspaces in National Asylum Support Service (NASS) accommodation were allocated to asylum seekers and their dependants. The number of bedspaces allocated to single adults and to couples without children is not available.

1 Figures rounded to the nearest ten.

Miss Widdecombe:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in each of the past three years (a) how many failed asylum seekers were removed from the United Kingdom and (b) how many asylum applications were refused; and if he will make a statement. [150076]

Mrs. Roche [holding answer 12 February 2001]: The information is given in the table.

Year

Total refusals (24),(25)

Asylum seekers removed(26)

1998

22,315

6,990

1999(24)

12,300

7,660

2000(27)

78,180

8,970

(24) Initial decision outcome

(25) Figures rounded to the nearest 5

(26) Figures rounded to the nearest 10

(27) Provisional figures

The Government are determined to increase substantially the number of failed asylum seekers who are removed.

We are taking additional measures, including expanding the number of detention places, to increase and speed up the removal of failed asylum seekers. The programme of works to deliver around 2,000 new detention places by the end of 2001 is well on track. In addition to the current facilities at Tinsley House, Gatwick, Campsfield House, Oxford and Harmondsworth, near Heathrow, we have successfully let contracts to deliver 900 places at Yarl's Wood in Bedfordshire by May 2001 and 550 places at Harmondsworth, to replace the current facility by the end of June 2001. We are also tendering a contract to deliver up to 150 places on the old Dungavel House prison site in Lanarkshire, Scotland by the autumn of 2001 and progressing plans to deliver 300 places at Aldington in Kent. An agreement is also in place with the Prison Service to allow us to use 112 places at Her Majesty's Prison Lindholme and up to a further 500 prison places throughout England for Immigration Act detainees, while the new facilities are under construction.

Mr. Corbyn:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what average payments were made to each London borough per asylum seeker for housing allowance for the latest year for which information is available. [150547]

Mrs. Roche:
It is not possible to give separate figures for housing allowance. The table gives the information that is available and shows the actual average amounts paid by the Home Office to each London borough for families and single adults for the year 1999-2000. The amount covers accommodation, support and administration costs.